Title:

Leveraging Mechanical and Biological Properties of Composite Hydrogels to Induce Angiogenesis

Ischemic stroke causes extensive brain tissue damage due to interrupted blood flow, making post-stroke vascular and neuronal regeneration crucial for recovery. Our research focuses on developing composite hydrogels composed of dextran and collagen to mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM) and support angiogenesis. By combining dextran's mechanical strength and collagen's bioactive properties, we created hydrogels capable of sustaining human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Confocal microscopy showed that specific gel formulations promoted cell adhesion and growth, though definitive evidence of vascular structure formation was not observed. Despite these initial challenges with gelation consistency and gel contamination, early results indicate that the near-optimized gel compositions are biologically active and show strong potential for future development. This research lays the foundational work necessary toward therapeutic hydrogels aimed at regenerating blood vessels in damaged brain tissue.

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